University of Hong Kong no longer in top three Asian universities
National University of Singapore takes the top spot in the Times Higher Education Asian University Rankings 2016
The University of Hong Kong has fallen out of the top three of an Asian university ranking system for the first time since its inception, while the University of Science and Technology climbed to sixth place – a new high.
In the newly released Times Higher Education Asian University Rankings 2016, the city’s oldest university dropped one place to fourth after being placed third for three years in a row.
“We take note of the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2016 and we firmly believe that the work we are undertaking to achieve the aims outlined in our new vision document with the commitment to being Asia’s Global University will enhance our international reputation,” said a university spokeswoman.
The ranking system, first published in 2013, looks at performance indicators, including those related to teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income.
After being placed between seventh and ninth for the last three years, HKUST rose to sixth place.
A university spokesman said it was not its goal to pursue high rankings, but to achieve excellence in teaching and research. But he added that rankings could be useful as a reference to understand more about its performance and where to improve.
The Chinese University remained level at 13th place, while the City University went up seven places to 16th. The Polytechnic University also rose seven places to 22nd, while the Baptist University edged up one spot to 44th.
Elsewhere, the National University of Singapore took the top spot for the first time, after ranking second the last three years, while the University of Tokyo fell to seventh after topping the rankings in the past three editions.
Surpassing HKU for the first time were Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and Peking University, both in joint second place.
Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said that the Singaporean universities have benefited from the country’s government putting her universities at the very centre of the economy, with huge investment and support.
“There is evidence that Singapore is surging ahead of Hong Kong due to more focused and planned funding and a more coherent knowledge strategy,” he added.
For the first time since the ranking system was introduced, the teaching indicators account for only 25 per cent, down from 30 per cent, while the industry income indicators add up to 7.5 per cent, a jump from 2.5 per cent.
The latter is associated with a university’s ability to help industries with innovations, inventions and consultancy.
